The Founder’s Key by Larry P. Arnn

The Founder’s Key by Larry P. Arnn is a book that makes American’s really look at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and see how influential they are even to this day. The words written in them aren’t as safe and secure for our freedoms as some may think though, and this book looks into why that is.


Book Description
“Dr. Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, reveals the integral unity of the Declaration and the Constitution, and warns us of the threat they are under from the modern Progressive movement.

The ringing words of the Declaration of Independence have a way of continuing to ring across the ages. The arrangements of the Constitution have a way of organizing our actions so as to produce certain results, and it has done this more reliably than any governing instrument in the history of man. Connect these arrangements to the beauty of the Declaration, and one has something both inspiring and commanding. The Declaration acquires a practical form and operation that do not seem to come from it alone. The Constitution soars to the elevation of the natural law, and its arrangements are reinforced with that strength.

FDR was the first president to sever the two documents. He embraced the Declaration but demoted the Constitution, claiming that the rights in it should be up for reinterpretation as society changed.

You see the same efforts to divide one mighty document from the other in the Progressive movement today. The result: both documents have been weakened, their influence diminished, their meaning obscured. The Founders' Key is a rousing call to rediscover the imporant connection and thereby restore our faith.” – The Founder’s Key


My Thoughts
The Founder’s Key is a very readable book, it isn’t as boring as a regular history or political book would be to most people. In fact, if you are an American, I would venture to suggest that you should read it. Most Americans today barely know the basics about the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, and some don’t even know that. They know we celebrate Independence Day on the 4th of July, but for some, sadly that is all they really know. Oh, and we had a war to separate from Great Britain. Regardless of if you are a history buff or barely passed American History in high school, this is a book Americans should read.

The author does an excellent job of presenting us with the material from our country’s greatest documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Federalist Papers. These are included in the book, so you don’t even have to Google them or pull out an old textbook to read them. He also presents very timely and important issues that concern these documents and our country. It is in these chapters where you may get a real look, for perhaps the first time, at what our country has become.

I agree with mostly everything that the author is stating in this book. However, even if you don’t agree with it all, it is very much worth reading and actually thinking about (even better to discuss with others). We do still have freedom of speech, so why not use it?


* Thank you to the publisher of The Founder’s Key, Thomas Nelson, for providing me with a copy of this book for review as part of their Book Sneeze program. All opinions expressed are my own.